Review of Portland, Oregon Walking Tours

Portland's an easy-going, friendly and walkable city but there's no need to explore it alone. Portland Walking Tours offers a collection of tours ideal for vacationers and residents. During my Oregon vacation earlier this summer, I participated on the Best of Portland walking tour, promising an insider's view of the city by a resident expert. But did I really get an insider's view? Read on for my review of Portland Walking Tours...

The 10 a.m. tour met at the Visitor Information Center at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Four of us watched a brief film telling us why Portland is a great city. After watching business leaders tout why they love Portland, my adrenaline was pumped and ready to learn more about the city.

The Portland Walking Tours "Resident Expert" (aka: tour guide) led the group through one-and-a-half miles of the city's downtown. Her demeanor encapsulated Portland's nonchalant, easy-going pace. Highlights included Portland's history, architecture and artwork. The guide's been living in Portland just over a year and although I don't see how she could already be a resident expert with an insider's view, she did know her history and answered questions without canned responses.

Highlights of the Portland Walking Tour I found fascinating...

Something about Portland's water...the city's drinking water source is rain water, which is probably why Portland's beer is so good. Speaking of beer, there are more breweries in Portland than any other city in the world, 32 to be exact. The guide shared her favorite brewery and I ended up spending my evening there.

Fifty-two Benson Bubblers are sprinkled throughout Portland's downtown. These are free-flowing, four-bowl drinking water fountains discharging (free) water between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.

When it comes to sustainability, Portland's forward thinking....Portland's solar-powered parking meters are pretty cool. Okay, parking meters don't sound very exciting but in the City of Roses, drivers pay for time and not a parking spot. Money is put into the parking meter and a ticket (which is a sticker) printed with the purchased time pops out.